The Natura 2000 Network

WECF Briefing

November 2004

The Natura 2000 Network

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WECF Briefing – November 2004 – The Natura 2000 Network

The Natura 2000 Network is the ecological network of the European Union (EU), comprising the protected areas designated under the Birds and Habitats Directives. The objective of Natura 2000 is to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in the EU.

The Directive on Wild Birds[1] , the so-called Birds Directive (79/409/EEC), was adopted in 1979, laying the foundations of the nature conservation policy of the future EU. The aim of this Directive is the conservation of birds, calling upon Member States to take the necessary steps to conserve bird habitats, establishing Special Protected Areas (SPAs).

In 1992 the Habitats Directive[2](92/43/EEC), was adopted, aiming to protect and conserve biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. The Directive provides for the creation of a network of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to be known as Natura 2000. Each Member State is required to identify sites of European importance and to put in place a special management plan to protect them, combining long-term preservation with economic and social activities, as part of a sustainable development strategy. These sites, together with those of the Birds Directive, make up the Natura 2000 network, the cornerstone of EU nature protection policy[3]. Natura 2000 is intended to protect a good representation of the habitats and species of Community interest.

The Sixth Action Programme for the Environment (EAP), ‘Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice’[4], which sets out the EU's environmental policy agenda until 2012, highlights nature and biodiversity as a top priority, stating that responses must be found to the pressures from human activities on nature in Member States and the biodiversity it supports.

Under the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, halting the loss of biodiversity in the EU is a priority. At the European Council Meeting in Gothenburg in June 2001, European Heads of State and Government made a commitment to reverse the decline of biodiversity in the EU by 2010.

A 2010 target also exists at the international level: during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, world leaders committed themselves to significantly reducing global biodiversity loss by 2010.

Biodiversity protection is a critical component of sustainable development, and therefore the Natura 2000 Network, properly managed, should make an important contribution both to biodiversity and sustainable development.

Designation process

The designation process begins by each State Member proposing to the Commission a national list of sites of Community importance. These sites have been elected for each biogeographical region according to the existence on them of habitats or/and species included in Annex I and Annex II respectively of the Habitats Directive.

Subsequently the Commission, by common agreement with the Member States, will propose a List of Sites of Community Importance, with must be approved by a committee with representation from all the States (the Habitats Committee), which in turn will send it to the EU´s Council of Ministers for definitive approval. Once the sites of Community interests are selected each Member States must designate them Special Areas for Conservation (SACs).

Sites being currently SPAs automatically become SACs. It was envisaged that the process would be finished by 2004 and thus having the Natura 2004 network established, but it has been much slower and has not yet finished.

According to the European Commission, by July 2004 the Natura 2000 network comprises about 18.000 sites covering an area of 63,7 million hectares, including 5,5 million hectares of marine area. The 56 million hectares of terrestrial area represent about 17,5% of EU-15 territory.

With the enlargement of the EU, the new Member States will significantly increase the land area of the EU, bringing in many unspoiled landscapes, forests, parks and wetlands, therefore increasing the Community’s biodiversity.

Consequences of the Natura 2000 Network

In the designated SACs that form the Natura 2000 Network, Member States must adopt appropriate measures in order to:

Protect the habitats and species.

Ensure adequate state of conservation of the species and habitats.

According to the specific characteristics of the sites some Natura 2000 areas will require strict protection whereas others will require an effective integration between rural development and nature conservation.

The designation of a site as a SAC does not imply the exclusion of all economic activity, it requires the compatibility of the economic activities with the objectives of the SAC, so that the sustainable use of the site is promoted, this includes providing access to visitors. The Natura 2000 network is also considered as a contribution to local economic development.

From designation to management

Now that the designation process is near completion, the European Commission is asking for the active management of the sites to ensure the long-term conservation and the achievement of the economic and social objectives of the network.According to the Commission, formulation of management plans has already started in most Member States, and should be completed in the coming two to three years.

When it comes to the management of the sites, the problem of finding sufficient funding to ensure that the management objectives are accomplished arises.The Commission considers particularly important investments that promote the sustainable use of the sites and access for visitors, realising the potential of the network to contribute to local economic development.

LIFE, The Financial Instrument for the Environment

Launched in 1992, LIFE co-finances environmental initiatives in the European Union and certain third countries bordering on the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea and in Central and East European accession candidate countries that have decided to participate in LIFE.

In the framework of sustainable development, LIFE should contribute to the implementation, development and enhancement of the Community environmental policy and legislation as well as the integration of the environment into other EU policies. LIFE should also lead new solutions facing EU environmental problems. LIFE is the instrument, which should work towards the implementation of Community policy defined by the based on a practical approach.

LIFE consists of three thematic components: "LIFE-Nature", " LIFE- Environment” and “LIFE-Third Countries”.

The specific objective of LIFE-Nature is to contribute to the implementation of Community nature protection legislation: the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive, and in particular the establishment of the Natura 2000 Network for the in situ management and conservation of Europe's most remarkable fauna and flora species and habitats.

Nature conservation projects which contribute to maintaining or restoring natural habitats and/or species populations to a favourable conservation status within the meaning of the Habitats Directive are eligible for LIFE-Nature. Projects must concern Special Protection Areas or Sites of Community Importance and the species listed in these Directives.

The rate of Community co-financing may be up to 50% of the costs. By way of exception, for projects concerning priority natural habitats or priority species defined in the Habitats Directive the Commission can finance up to 75% of the eligible costs.

The European Union has allocated approximately 300 million Euro for LIFE-Nature for the period 2000-2004. From 1992 to 2002, there were supported 700 LIFE-Nature projects. LIFE-Nature is the only financial instrument specific for nature conservation andhas a very small budget to meet the requirements of the Natura 2000 network.

On the 5th October it was officially announced the extension of the third phase of LIFE (LIFE III) [5] with an allocation of EUR 317 million to cover the period from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006.

Financing the Natura 2000 network

As it is expected that LIFE-Nature will finish in 2006, the European Commission (EC) established in 2002 an expert working group on financing Natura 2000. It concluded on three scenarios of which it proposed the first, i.e. use of existing funds. It did that based on two assumptions: firstly that funds should be ring fenced in the Rural Development and Structural Funds and secondly that there should be another fund, which it proposed could be called “ LIFE +” (LIFE plus), to 'fill the gaps'.

The Biodiversity conference in May 2004 in Malahide, under the Irish Presidency made similar recommendations for financing Natura 2000 and the continuation of the LIFE-Nature instrument.

On 15th July 2004, the commission adopted a Communication on the Financing of Natura 2000 (COMM (2004) 431). According to this communication, the full cost of maintaining the network, for EU-25, has been calculated as €6.1 billion. However some organisations consider that is likely to under-estimate the full cost of maintaining the network, and it is therefore an absolute minimum.

According with the Habitats Directive the responsibility for ensuring management of Natura 200 sites lies with member States, but it is possible to draw co-financing form the EU for certain activities. Community Funds, primarily Structural and Rural Development Fundswill be co-financing for the implementation of Natura 200 network. The final expenditure depending on the priority given to Natura 2000 within individual Member States programmes.

The Commission is considering publishing a detailed guidance on how these funds can be used to support the network.

Communication on the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 (COM (2004) 487).

According to this Communication the Commission will require Member States to show how they have taken the financing needs of the environment, including relevant aspects of Natura 2000 into account in developing their national programmes under the structural funds and will discuss the need for Community co-financing with them, as part of the programme approval. process.

LIFE + would become the EU's single financial instrument targeting only the environment. LIFE+ should closely support the priorities of the 6th Environment Action Programme (2002-2012) which are to combat climate change, to halt the decline in bio-diversity, to minimise negative environmental effects on human health, and to deal with natural resources and waste in sustainable ways. The Commission has proposed to commit a total of €2.19 billion from 2007 to 2013.

The Commission envisages two strands: ‘Implementation and Governance’, to consolidate the knowledge base and help Member States get better and quicker results in applying EU environment policy. An example would be support for networking of managers of nature conservation sites. The second strand, ‘Information and Communication’, to raise environmental awareness and share best practices, would include support for events such as the successful EU Mobility Week. The funding will be available to administrations at all levels, NGOs, environmental stakeholders and others.

Provisions are expected for certain actions related to NATURA 2000, such as the development of innovative ways to approach and demonstrate site management; communication and networking activities and support for the establishment of local partnerships that promote specific governance approaches to the protection of NATURA 2000 sites. A draft proposal on this new instrument will be approved by the Commission in autumn this year.

The budget for the existing LIFE programmes is currently around €240 million per year. LIFE+ will have a budget of roughly €300 million per year during the 2007-2013 period. According to the European Commission this modest increase takes into account the extension of the programme to the ten new Member States and that certain funding needs will be met under other programmes.

The challenge

The problem is that even if Rural Development and Structural Funds are used for nature conservation, they will leave a number of species, habitats and management actions without funding. These in the past would have been covered by the LIFE-Nature instrument, but as described above, LIFE+. only will be covering some of aspects of protecting and managing Natura 2000.

There is also the risk that by 2007 national administrations will not be ready to administer Rural Development and Structural Funds in favour of biodiversity. In this case specific funds such as the LIFE-Nature or the LIFE+ fund, could be helpful for capacity building.

Some of the gaps in funding with the proposal for the new Rural Development Regulation and the Structural funds that have been identified are as follows:

• Changes in the climate of Europe are becoming increasingly apparent from the impacts on plants and animals. As recognised in the ‘Message from Malahide’ (2004) this requires support for the ecological connectivity of Natura2000 in order to achieve or maintain favourable conservation status of species and habitats, including the promotion of crossborder ecological corridors. Several types of landowners will have to be part of these corridors. These landowners will have extra costs or income foregone and should be compensated. However, in the current Rural Development regulation only farmers and foresters will be eligible for Natura2000 payments (art 36). The Structural Funds are geared towards investment types of payments. This leaves a gap for compensation payments to landowners in Natura2000 that are not farmers and foresters.

• Funding for marine Natura 2000 sites, which are now in the process of being designated and which contain a major portion of EU priority species and habitats, is not taken into account. There is no reference to Natura 2000 included in the proposed regulation for a new Fisheries Fund.

• The management of many endangered habitat types and species would not be covered by the scope of Rural Development or Regional policy. Good examples are different types of wetlands, requiring specific management activities to maintain their conservation value. Specific activities required for the conservation of highly threatened species (e.g. the Iberian lynx or Spanish Imperial Eagle) would also fall outside the scope of these funds. These species often have international Action Plans for their conservation and have been the specific target for LIFE-Nature funding until now.

On September 2004, nine European environmental NGO´s, including the EEB (European Environmental Bureau)signed the position paper“Financing Natura 2000” regarding the EuropeanCommissionCommunication on Financing Natura 2000.

Prepared by Isabel Ripa Juliá

Co-ordinator Working Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, WECF

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WECF Briefing – November 2004 – The Natura 2000 Network

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[5] Published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 5 October 2004. (OJ L 308 of 5.10.2004, p. 1.)